Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Yala National Park

Yala National Park is geographically located in Sri Lanka at latitude 06°16' - 06°42' North and longitude 81°15' - 81°42' East. The Park can be visited via the town of Tissamaharama in the Hambantota District of the Southern Province.
While Block I has good access roads, access to Blocks II and III is limited mainly to dry weather. There are eight Park bungalows all of which are within Yala Block I. Another has been constructed at Katagamuwa Sanctuary, and one more is now ready for occupation in Yala Block IV. Accommodation is available for 8-10 people in each bungalow on the basis of prior reservations with the Department of Wildlife Conservation. Apart from resident visitors occupying the bungalows, a large number of day visitors enter the Park.
The Block I boundaries of the Park, take in 19 kilometers of sea coast in the southeast from Amaduwa to Yala, 19 kilometers from Yala up the Menik Ganga to Pahalahentota, 19 kilometers from Pahalahentota to Bambawa, and 3 kilometers from Bambawa to Palatupana.

HISTORY
"The earliest epigraphic "Brahmi" inscriptions discovered in Sri Lanka and in this region date back to the 2nd century B.C. Prior to this the Indo-Aryan settlers from Northern India as represented,in the legend of Vijaya, were well established and in full control of the area. Edifices of the earliest Buddhist cave monastery type began to be constructed wherever there was human habitation and in suitable rock outcrops, of which there are many in the area. There are to this day innumerable and very interesting remains of cave dwellings from the pre-Christian era."
This region was part of the Rohana (Ruhuna) Kingdom, having an advanced civilization as evinced by remains of dagabas and ancient artificial reservoirs (tanks), built by clever hydrological engineers, to irrigate large extents of cultivable land.
After the 10th century, historical evidence draws attention to the absence of inscriptions later than the 10th century A.D. "Architectural and sculptural remains of the medieval period are absent. It would appear to be a justifiable inference that some sudden de-population of the region occurred. The ancient chronicles supply no information whatsoever and the jungle tide spread covering the past with a mantle of secondary forest. These have matured to the climax stands seen in Yala today.

THE MODERN ERA

At the turn of the century Yala Block I was declared a Game Sanctuary. A small area west of the Sanctuary was set aside in which resident sportsman might shoot. The main force behind this decision was the Game Protection Society (now the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society) founded in 1894 by the plantation owners, executives of firms, sportsmen and amateur naturalists favouring the conservation of wildlife. Records denote that the first Game Ranger of the Sanctuary was H.H. Engelbrecht, an Afrikaaner and a Boer prisoner of war who was not returned to South Africa on account of his refusal to swear allegiance to the British monarchy. After his release Engelbrecht came to the nearby coastal town of Hambantota. Being on his own on foreign soil, he found life hard. The Government Agent of the district however, took pity on Engelbrecht and made him the custodian of the Game Sanctuary around 1908. With his experience of wildlife on the veldt, the post suited him admirably. He administered the region fearlessly and with courage, using his whip to punish any miscreants. Many are the tales of his daring and prowess with the gun. However, his German ancestry proved to be his undoing. He was falsely accused during the First World War (1914­-1918), of supplying meat to a German warship, the "Emden", and was taken into custody. After the war, he was released and once again returned to Hambantota where he died in poverty. Long after his death, it was proved that he was innocent of the accusation.
                                  

CLIMATE

Being located in one of the arid regions of Sri Lanka, the climate of Ruhuna National Park is usually hot and dry. The area receives its annual rainfall during the north east monsoon from November to January, and unpredictable inter-monsoonal rains in March/April and September. February is a dry month, with the dry season proper commencing in June and lasting until September and sometimes until mid October.
The mean annual temperature near sea level is 270C, although in the dry season a daily maximum of 370C is not uncommon.

PHYSICAL FEATURES

"Most of the area is underlain by Vijayan rocks formed over 600 million years ago. Rock outcrops or inselbergs stand out of a relatively flat plain, looming to heights of up to 800ft. They are made up of migmatites, hornblende, and granite gneisses. Pleistocene and Holocene alluvial and aeolian deposits cover the Vijayan series near the Menik ganga and along most of the coast line."
The Menik Ganga is now a seasonal river, since its damming for irrigation purposes higher up, as far back as 1878. There are four other seasonal "aras" or streamlets carrying water during the rainy season.
The breached and denuded earth bunds of several irrigation tanks are still visible, together with natural water holes and tanks (wewa), improved to hold water. These sources of water are a link in the survival of the wildlife found within the area.
Amongst the rock ridges and monoliths are several natural rock pools that have a charm of their own. Some contain water throughout the year, and have their own development of water plants and fauna.
In the southeast, the Park is bounded by the sea. The many bays carve out an intricate mosaic. Unspoilt natural beaches and sand dunes provide a beautiful environment of undulating and shifting sands. This is surely one of the most spectacular seascapes of Sri Lanka. Far out at sea are two lighthouses, Great and Little Basses, which stand on two submerged ridges by those names and beam a red and white light respectively at night.
Lagoons fringe this part of the coastline, each lined with mangroves and filled with brackish water. The extensive parklands that surround these lagoons offer visitors superb locations for viewing animals and bird life.


      
 

 


 
 





Monday, January 2, 2012

Kandalama Hotel

 Beauty in austerity -the Kandalama Hotel in Dambulla










 

  • A hotel that peeps out of the rock face, spectacular views and easy access to Sri Lanka's culture triangle... Heritance Hotel Kandalama offers this and more.
  • We have braved a four-hour drive from Colombo on tortuous roads. It's pitch dark as we approach our destination. There's mystery and suspense in the air. Far away I see some dim lights twinkling like ghostly sentinels. A nondescript dirt track framed by scrub and foliage, leads to the top of a ridge and we arrive at the dramatic cave-like entrance of the Heritance Hotel Kandalama, Dambulla (Sri Lanka). “Ayubowan,” says a young girl in a sarong as she welcomes me, handing over a lotus. What catch my eye are the stark and rough boulders that have been assimilated into the building. Apparently the design kept to the natural topography of the rock face. No rocks were injured during the building of the hotel; instead rooms and corridors were built around them! As we walk to our room, bats, insects and lizards weave and whirl their way in the open corridors giving us a true, eerie “jungle feel”.

  • I wake up the next morning to one of the most spectacular scenes of my life; the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of my room frame the cobalt blue waters of the ancient Kandalama reservoir (tank) surrounded by primordial forests. Far in the distance I can see the flat-topped ancient fortress of Sigiriya, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Kandalama Hotel is one of the world's first eco-friendly hotels built much before “going green” was fashionable. It is the brainchild of genius architect and design guru the late Geoffrey Bawa, whose integration of geography and culture is marvellous. Looking at the hotel, we wonder if any human effort was responsible or it simply grew out of the forest! Though it's seven storeys high, it's almost invisible from a distance as it has been sensitively fitted to its surroundings and covered with ficus, grass and jungle creepers. Geoffrey Bawa had told the hotel staff long ago that one day the hotel would peep out of the lush foliage like a lost temple and today it really does! 
  • The construction of the hotel in the 1990s was fraught with controversy and local opposition and fears of disturbing the fragile eco-systems. Today the Hotel Kandalama is a beacon for sustainable development. It has won many awards and was the first hotel in Asia to receive the prestigious Green Globe 21 certification. We are told that the hotel is built in the configuration of the outstretched wings of a bird and between two rocks. Tall pillars line the open corridors and natural light floods the interiors and the difference between “indoors” and “outdoors” blurs. The highly polished stone floors reflect the sky and water outside.
  • In this hotel only the rooms, restaurants and the conference halls are air-conditioned. Bawa has used overhanging eaves, cross-ventilation and open corridors to cool the building, saving on electricity. The hotel has 162 rooms in elegant minimalist design over seven floors snaking over a wide area of 1.8 km but the lowest floor has been left empty with only tall columns. This was in keeping with Bawa's philosophy of allowing free flow of water and animals. The hotel staff tells us that in the rainy season, one can see wild elephants and even boars walk near the corridors! The bedrooms are simply furnished with mahogany and padauk wood shaped by local craftsmen (Bawa was an early champion of indigenous materials). The rooms seem to be a natural extension of the verdant forest around as Hanuman langurs shriek and chatter, peering into our rooms from a ledge. The bathroom has a jacuzzi facing a glass window with spectacular scenery outside and we vote it the best “bathroom with a view”. The hotel has a swimming pool cut into the rock of the mountainside and another infinity pool merging seamlessly with the 11th century Kandalama reservoir. Eco-friendly paradise

  • A short stroll away is the hotel's eco-park, which has a state-of-the-art waste water recycling plant, an elephant dung paper making facility, an herbal garden and even an animal rehabilitation centre. The hotel grows organic vegetables, fruits and herbs and works with local villages and communities in sustainable development. We visit the famed Six Senses Spa at one end, which offers a smorgasbord of Thai, Ayurvedic and Swedish massage as well as steam, sauna, reflexology, pedicures, manicures and facials. We have a relaxing Asian massage with sweet smelling oils and turn soporific under skilled hands. The three restaurants with magnificent views serve international food and we are told that Kandalama has won the SAGA good food award for 10 consecutive years. At dusk, a traditional flautist from a nearby village sits on a rock near the coffee shop and entertains the guests with his haunting music. We take a boat ride on the ancient Kandalama reservoir and are astounded by the boatmen's rich knowledge of bird life on the lake; Brahminy kites fly in the thermals, fish eagles swoop down on their daily catch, egrets and cormorants sit in the rushes, bee-eaters and colourful orioles flit by and the magnificent flight of the hawks is mesmerising in the burnished gold of the setting sun.
  • Our days at the hotel are busy. The hotel has the unique distinction of being within the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka and is surrounded by UNESCO World Heritage sites.
  • We visit the Dambulla Rock caves filled with frescoes and Buddha statues one day and trek up to Sigiriya, the ancient pleasure palace of King Kashyapa, the next. We visit the ruins and shrines of the ancient capitals of Anuradhapura and Polonoruwa evocative of the rich past. I think that I can spend a lifetime sitting in my room here, watching the serene lake, listening to birdsong and the chattering of the monkeys. At Heritance Kandalama, the dictum “do not build in the view but with a view” is thoroughly adhered to.